A magnificent beach near the Panamanian capital - Panama City
Many domestic travelers, having been to Turkey and Egypt a couple of times, rashly declare that they have managed to see the whole world. In reality, this is, to put it mildly, not true. There are still plenty of places that are easy to get to (get a visa) and where the foot of a Russian tourist has hardly set foot. One such place is Panama.
What is there to see in this Central American country? First of all, of course, the Panama Canal – the largest artificially created waterway in the world. The importance of this structure is difficult to overestimate, especially for not very wealthy country that Panama is.
The artificial watershed of 81.6 kilometers actually divided South and North America, but opened up unprecedented opportunities for the development of international trade and the economy of the Western Hemisphere as a whole. The canal plays a major role, primarily for the USA, because the route through it, for example, from San Francisco to New York is more than twice as short – 10,700 kilometers. The alternative is the Strait of Magellan, but you would have to sail 24,300 km. In addition to admiring this remarkable structure, the canal zone offers the opportunity to buy almost anything, with goods from all over the world at low prices.
The unique history of this Central American state is reflected in the architecture of its capital of the same name – Panama City. Back in the 16th century, the first Spanish colony was founded here, so the old part of the city (called San Felipe) is full of beautiful European architecture, mainly, of course, Spanish and Portuguese. The capital also has many other places recommended for visiting – for example, the Metropolitan Church and the National Park of the same name, the Presidential Palace and the Museum of History. The modern part of the city from a bird's eye view is almost indistinguishable from large US metropolises – there are also many skyscrapers housing offices of various companies, banks and world-class hotels.
A 15-minute light plane flight from the capital there is a wonderful island – Contadora. In short, this place resembles paradise: palm trees, white sand, blue, almost transparent water. It should be noted that the island's main competitor is the Maldives, which are already being actively explored by our compatriots.